1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to water treatment devices, and particularly to a plate reactor that is used to remove organic materials from water using a photocatalytic nanocomposite material embedded in a thin film coating on the surface of the plate for enhanced degradation of the organic materials and pollutants when the photocatalytic material is exposed to visible or natural light.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand for fresh water is rapidly approaching the available supply of drinking water. Also, huge quantities of water are needed for various industrial operations. Arid regions or areas far from a ready source are especially affected because they suffer from their ability, finances and resources to meet these demands. To counteract this issue, inroads into purification of wastewater have been made. One solution for purifying wastewater involves the use of photodegradation of organic matter, such as high molecular weight oil contaminants in industrial wastewater. Some reactor systems are known that use a conductive solid electrolyte in a photoelectric reactor, or that use a photocatalytic reactor using a titanium dioxide catalyst exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, most such systems utilize catalysts having low activity or entail high economic cost.
Another solution for water treatment involves the use of harsh chemicals. The chemicals perform effectively to clean the water, but they pose potential hazards that have a negative impact on the environment. Moreover, the costs for obtaining, making and using such products may not be economically feasible for everyone.
In light of the above, it would be a benefit in the art of water treatment devices to provide an environmentally friendly and efficient means of removing organic contaminants and pollutants from wastewater. Thus, a plate reactor solving the aforementioned problems is desired.